M. N. Nambiar was a film actor in Tamil cinema and had been in the film industry for more than 50 years.He moved to live with his sister in Ooty. He became interested in acting when he was 13 and he joined Nawab Rajamanikkams troupe. From then on acting became the only thing that occupied him.

His first film was Bhaktha Ramadoss, shot in 1935 in Hindi and Tamil, where he played a villain. Nambiar had been the ‘Guru’ for most in the film industry, including superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikant for initiating them to undertake the annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa in Kerala. A deeply religious person, Nambiar made it a point to visit the temple for more than 65 years.
Though he acted mostly in Tamil films, he had starred in Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu movies.

He even starred in the 1952 English film “Jungle”. One of his memorable performances include “Aayirathil Oruvan”, “Missiyamma”, “Nenjam Marappathillai”, “Thooral Ninnu Pochchu”, “Ambikapathy” and “Digambarasamiyar” in which he essayed 11 roles. That today his name is almost eponymous with the Kollywood villain.

Nambiar has worked with seven generations of actors from Balaiyah to Manoj (Bharathiraaja’s son). His first pay was Rs,3 in the “Boys Company.” He would retain Rs 1, and send Rs.2 to his mother.A man of very limited needs, he has not eaten outside of his house. Nambiar swami was that rare contradictory personality – a cruel, charming villain on the silver screen while being a very pious man in real life. He was also a pure vegetarian and teetotaler.

Nambiar was suffering from age-related ailments for the past four months and died at his residence in Chennai on 19 November 2008.